


Swan Song

by Windfighter



Series: stonyweek [3]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Wings, Hurt Tony, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 05:12:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19244527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windfighter/pseuds/Windfighter
Summary: In a world full of people, meeting your soulmate isn't a guarantee. Steve had hope when he was young, but as the years went by the hope disappeared.Enter Tony Stark.





	Swan Song

**Author's Note:**

> haha what are titles even?
> 
> Written for the Stony-week  
> day 5 - june 13th : confessions / “and i choose to believe in you, iron man” / **soulmates**
> 
> The observant follower may notice that I've skipped day 3 and 4 but I'm Working Hard on day 3 and have started day 4, they just turned into bigger projects than I had planned. 
> 
> Anyway, here's another soulmate AU where everyone has wings and when you meet your soulmate your wings turn from white into a combination of the soulmates' eyecolours. Enjoy!

Steve used to dream about meeting his soulmate. He had been sure he would some day, that even someone like him – a scrawny kid from a poor home – had someone out there for them. When he laid eyes on Bucky the first time and instantly fell head over heels in love he thought it was real. They touched, a jolt ran through his body. Then nothing. No magic explosion of colours, no flight, no change in his white wings. Bucky laughed at him, white wings flapping happily behind him. It must have been so obvious what Steve had been hoping.

Bucky introduced him to lot of dames over the years, sometimes the occassional bloke, but nothing ever happened. For every person he touched, for every time his wings didn't change colours, he kept losing hope.

He met Peggy. It was the second time he fell head over heels in love and maybe, just maybe, she would be the one. She was a respectable dame, never let her skin touch anyone and Steve kept his distance. Then he ended up getting the serum. Peggy eyed him, looked at his new muscles. She let her bare hand trace over his bare chest.

Nothing. Maybe Steve was cursed. He smiled at her, then chaos errupted around him and his life got too busy to even think about soulmates. When he crashed into the ice he said a quiet prayer for whoever was his soulmate.

_Please, don't let them ever feel lonely._

 

Steve opened his eyes to a completely new world. People looked different, sounds were different, the skyline was different, the houses different and even smells were different. The first person that touched him was a man named Phil Coulson. Coulson's wings were already coloured, glittering in the lights of the jet they were in. Steve wanted to say something, didn't know what, and looked away again. His own soulmate was probably long since dead.

He didn't touch people after that. Took clues from Peggy – only shook people's hands when he wore gloves, stood far enough away that they wouldn't accidentally touch each other, stuff like that. It was easier than he thought, people in the new world were reserved. He was introduced to Natasha, to Bruce, to Thor and to Tony Stark. Only Bruce's wings had colours – two shades of brown and some green – the rest of them had white wings just like him, except for Thor who didn't have wings. He observed them, the way they interracted. Tony touched everyone. Occassionally a pat on the shoulder, a pat on the back, a firm handshake. Natasha's touches were reserved, careful, planned. Thor's were strong, abundant, friendly. Bruce's were shy, quick to disappear, as if he was afraid to hurt them.

Clint joined their group, his wings the same colours as Coulson's and Steve smiled, nodded at him. Clint was almost as touchy as Stark, but in a different way, a more natural way.

Once Steve tried to pat Tony's shoulder. Tony flinched, pushed his hand away and then patted Steve's shoulder instead. Steve made note of it but didn't know how to take it.

Tony Stark fascinated him, but their interactions left a lot of room for improvement. Half of the times it ended in shouting matches, the other half in cold shoulders and one of them leaving the room. Tony tried to introduce him to the new world's technology, Steve turned right around and asked Clint instead. Steve tried to teach Tony to draw, Tony turned right around and designed him a new suit to get him to stop.

”I can draw, I just draw different things than you do”, he had said when he gave it to Steve.

They all moved into the newly renovated Avengers Tower. Thor on the upper floor, then Steve, Clint, Tony, Bruce and Natasha. One floor for each of them. There was a communal floor between Tony and Clint where they could all gather. Most nights they did, all of them except Tony who was in his workshop.

Occassionally they would sit in the communal floor and take care of each others' wings. Thor would watch them as they worked, fascinated by the midgardian tradition. Tony never joined for that and yet his wings were always spotless, not a feather out of place. Clint laughed and joked about Tony going to professional groomers but the way Tony had flinched under Steve's touch made him doubt it.

”I can't have a soulmate”, Natasha confessed to Steve one day. ”It's easier to be a spy when your wings are clean.”

”But Clint and Coulson?”

”They don't use Clint for spywork any longer. He's still great when they need an assassin.”

”My wife hates that though. She'd prefer if I retired.”

Steve blinked and looked at the vent Clint's voice was coming from.

”Wife?”

”Yeah, man. Coulson's great and all but I'm a married man. Plus, I love her.”

”But...”

Steve shook his head and decided it wasn't his place to pry. The new world had its own rules and he had tried to learn them, but when you hadn't lived them it was hard.

 

Steve started feeling comfortable about touching his team mates after a few months. All except Tony, who now that he looked closer was equally careful when touching people as Steve was. Except the occassionally firm handshake of course and Steve just couldn't understand it. He came to understand it when he was going to the workshop after a mission to talk with Tony.

Tony stripped out of the armor, stretched. Steve stopped outside and watched him move. He felt a weird warmness in his chest whenever he watched Tony. Tony put a t-shirt and sweatpants on over the undersuit he wore for the suit. He blinked when he saw Steve outside the door, gestured for him to come in.

”Hey”, Steve smiled. ”That was... You did good during the mission.”

Tony picked a pair of gloves up from the desk, smiled at Steve.

”Well, we have a pretty great leader.”

He put the gloves on, pressed a button on them. They formed themselves after his hands, their colour changing to match Tony's skin and Steve let out a small ”oh”. Tony gestured to Steve's hands.

”I can make you a pair as well. I've noticed your habit of wearing gloves.”

”It's fine, thanks anyway.”

Tony nodded, brought up some holograms and started making notes. Steve decided not to risk another shouting match and left him alone.

 

They kept working together, kept living together. They became more and more of a family over the eight months they had shared lives. Tony was a little outside, spending more time in the workshop then on the couch with the rest of them, but he came up one afternoon when they had another grooming session. Steve put the finishing touches on Natasha's wings, then patted the stool Natasha left and smiled at Tony.

”Come on, let me do you next!”

Tony and Clint both burst out laughing and Steve blushed.

”Not... not like that, come on guys.”

The laughter died out. Tony looked at Steve, sipped a cup of coffee. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. After half a minute he held up a finger, then went to the elevator.

”Jarvis?” Steve asked, uncertain about what had happened.

He could feel the others exchange glances as well, Jarvis stayed suspiciously quiet. Then Tony returned with a bag, placed it next to Steve and sat down.

”Use those. And be careful.”

”I know how to groom.”

The others sat down around the room, their eyes all locked to the two. Steve was nervous. He opened the bag, pulled out the tools. The brush was the softest he had ever held and he placed it against his cheek just to feel it.

”Impressed?”

”Definately. These must have cost a fortune.”

”They did.”

Months ago Steve would have thought Tony was just flaunting his riches in their faces, but they had grown closer since then. He placed the brush against Tony's wing and Tony pulled away.

”Tony...”

”Sorry, sorry. Just... You need to tell me what you're doing.”

”Okay”, Steve laughed. ”I'll start brushing your left wing now, okay?”

Tony nodded. Steve gently pulled the brush through the feathers, used his fingers to make sure they ended up correctly. Tony flinched again. They all had their problems and Steve knew that even if he hadn't learned what Tony's were yet.

”I'm using my fingers as well”, he said. ”Does it feel okay?”

”Mm...”

Tony sounded relaxed and Steve continued. The others were still staring, Clint perched on the kitchen table, Natasha in the couch leaning against the back of it, Bruce on a chair sipping on tea and Thor sitting on the floor next to them.

”I'm stretching your wing now so I can get to all the feathers.”

Tony flinched, pulled away and fell of the stool as Steve grabbed the wing. It slipped out of Steve's hand and Steve stared at Tony.

”Sorry, shit, ow. Sorry I flinched. Don't... ow.”

Tony's wings pulled back and Tony turned around so he was between Steve and them. Steve blinked, stared at his hand and stared at Tony again. Now that he thought about it he had never seen Tony fly like everyone else did, he only flew in his Iron Man-suit. Was there a problem with his wings?

”Did I grip too hard? I tried being gentle.”

”They're just...” Tony hung his head. ”They're very sensitive.”

”I'll be more careful.”

Steve patted the stool again. Tony hesitated, then sat up again. He stretched the wings himself and Steve noticed how they didn't quite reached their full lenght. He decided not to comment on it.

 

Tony's armor broke during one of their battles. That's when Steve learned what was wrong with Tony's wings. The armor fell off him and he fell towards the ground, stretched his wings to slow his descent. He crashed to the ground, cursed loudly. Steve ran over to him, he was lying on his stomach, one of his wings was bent, bone sticking out and feathers ripped off and spread over the ground around them. Steve crouched, placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. Tony hid his face in his arms and groaned.

”Again. Always the wings. Shit.”

”You stay there, I'll protect you and then we'll get you to medical, okay?”

Tony turned his head to glance at Steve, a frustrated smile on his face.

”At least it wasn't kidnappers that destroyed it this time. Should heal better now.”

Steve wanted to ask but it was neither the time nor place. He smiled at Tony, warmth spreading through him when he realized Tony hadn't waved him off, had actually agreed to let him play the knight in shining armor. He gripped his shield and went to work.

 

Clint had said he loved his wife even though Coulson was his soulmate. Steve hadn't understood it, but maybe soulmates wasn't always about getting married and living happily together ever after. The world was full of people after all, it should be statistically impossible to find one soulmate among all of them. Steve stared at Tony over the breakfast table. Tony was flipping through his tablet, working on new arrows for Clint. They had touched each other so many times, were always so close. There was no way Tony was his soulmate, statistically their skin must have touched sometime during the year they had worked together.

Still, he was certain he was in love with Tony. Not as head over heel as he had been with Bucky or Peggy. No, this love had built slower, started with laying a foundation. Friendship. When did friendship turn into love? Steve bit his lip, still staring at Tony. Tony's lips twitched and formed a smile but he didn't say anything. Steve kept poking at his breakfast.

”What is love?” he asked his cereal, not expecting Tony to listen.

”Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more”, Tony answered with a smile and Steve raised an eyebrow.

Maybe love was just stupid jokes shared over the table.

 

Tony used to dream about meeting his soulmate. Then Howard took that dream from him. Stark men are made from iron, they have no need for silly things like soulmates. He didn't need a soulmate, he kept himself happy with one night-stands and alcohol and stupid jokes. Kept himself busy with building weapons. Then Afghanistan had happened and his wings had been destroyed. After that he didn't even want to meet his soulmate. He stopped touching people, kept more to himself. Built himself a suit to be able to fly again.

Then he had met Steve freaking Rogers. Captain America. Who could in no way at all be his soulmate. More like his soul nemesis. They argued, fought, argued, helped each other and shared another shouting match. But with each game they played, each time they evaded each other, shouted at each other, praised each other, they got closer. Steve's wings were white as snow, beautiful, and sometimes Tony tried to imagine them with blue and brown feathers. Then he'd blush and hurry away from Steve.

They had worked together for eight months when Tony realized he was desperately in love with Steve freaking Rogers. He hid the fact deep in his heart.

Steve was there to help him when his wing broke during battle and Tony's walls crumbled hard. He let the truth slip out, the truth he had promised to never let anyone other then Pepper and Rhodey know. Had told Steve all about what happened when he was kidnapped.

They had worked together for one year when he realized Steve freaking Rogers was desperately in love with  _ him _ .

”What is love?” Steve blurted out and Tony knew he wasn't supposed to react to it but he couldn't help himself.

”Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more.”

He smiled, but didn't look at Steve. Steve finally returned to eating his breakfast. Tony didn't need a soulmate, didn't need love. He had his inventions, his company, his robots and his found family. But when Steve got up from the table Tony did as well. He grabbed Steve's hand. He never made those gloves for him.

”Steve”, he whispered.

His courage was gone, he fell quiet. Steve looked at him, tilted his head. Warmth spread through Tony's body as he met Steve's eyes, made him feel a little more couragous. There was nothing to fear. Steve Rogers was in love with him. He was in love with Steve Rogers. He took a deep breath.

”I love you.”

Steve took a shaky breath. Tony didn't expect an answer. He pressed the button on his gloves, pulled them off. His hands were shaking. He had only ever allowed Pepper and Rhodey to touch him since then, had only ever touched them this intimately.

”I love you”, he whispered again.

The gloves fell to the floor. Steve wasn't wearing his, he didn't do so in the tower any longer. Nothing was going to happen, there was no way Steve Rogers was Tony Stark's soulmate, and Tony grabbed Steve's hand.

The world exploded in colours only for them. A jolt ran through Tony's body, through his wings. His eyes got wet when Steve's white wings slowly turned blue and brown and he could see Steve's eyes getting equally wet. The colours around them calmed down again, returned to normal. Tony was breathing heavily, hadn't gathered himself, when Steve pulled him closer, pressed his lips against Tony's, and they were warm, perfect, soft and Tony melted even though the kiss in itself was lacking, panicked and greedy.

”I thought I wouldn't find you”, Steve breathed out as he pulled back.

”I didn't want to find you”, Tony whispered, ”but I'm happy I did.”

They shared another kiss, less panicked, softer, full of promise of a lot more to come. They had both dreamed about finding their soulmates.

They didn't need to dream any longer.

 


End file.
